Preparing Your Home for Sale

The time has come to make a change. Your kids are out of the house, or perhaps you are a young family in need of more space. You think the market has stabilized and you want to sell your house.

Prepare yourself to sell your home. Do your best to see the house no longer as your home, but as a product to be marketed. This takes work, especially if you have lived in the home for a long time and have many memories there.

Consider a professional whole house inspection. An inspection will most likely uncover any major defects before they become an issue with a potential buyer. It also signals to buyers that you are a responsible seller.

Prepare the house. Stand back and look at your home as objectively as possible. Would you buy this home? Ask friends and neighbors to do the same, asking them to be totally honest. Overlooking flaws could cost you money.

Do what is necessary to make your home stand out from the competition. Make certain that your home is fresher, cleaner and better maintained. Correct any problems discovered during the inspection, otherwise they could be a potential negotiating tactic.

Make sure your home has positive “Curb Appeal”. It doesn’t cost much to spruce up the landscaping and add colorful plantings. The entry door should be attractive and welcoming.

Remove most of the “imprint” that you have made on the home. Having a few family pictures around is fine, but if your home is a “shrine” to your family, you should take some steps to de-personalize it. Buyers must be able to envision themselves in the home.

Visit “Open Houses” in the neighborhood. This gives you the opportunity to discuss with Real Estate agents what the comparable prices are. An agent may offer you a free CMA or Comparable Market Analysis in order to get your listing. Knowing what your home is worth is one of the first steps in beginning to market the property.

The majority of home sellers take on the task with an ally; a Real Estate Agent. They feel that it is better to entrust the sale of their home to a professional, rather than attempting to learn about selling a home in a trial and error method.

How do you choose an Agent who will be effective? The following questions should be asked of any prospective Real Estate Agent in order to assess their capabilities and philosophies:

Are you a full-time Agent?Choose a full-time Agent

How long have you been in the Real Estate business?10 years in the business is a minimum

Are you an MLS (Multiple Listing Service) Member?MLSlistings exposes your home to more buyers

How familiar are you with the area where our home is located? Local knowledge of the market gets your home priced correctly, which will help sell it quicker.

How many homes did you sell in this area last year? Is the agent successful in a difficult market?

Can you supply 3 names and addresses of recent clients for whom you sold a home that we can contact for reference purposes?You know the answer to this one!

How did you arrive at the suggested listing price for our home? The agent’s experience should be apparent through the answer.

What is your specific marketing plan for our home?Does the plan make sense to you?

How do you plan on keeping us informed of the sale progress of our home? When you check references from past sellers be sure to ask this question: Did the agent communicate as promised?

Check your local newspapers and homes magazines. An agent with a number of advertisements most likely has a fairly extensive marketing experience. Be certain, though, that the Agent does not have too many listings to effectively service the sale of your home.